Sustainability Beyond Leed: Integrating Performative Delight in the Built Environment

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Sustainability Beyond Leed: Integrating Performative Delight in the Built Environment SUSTA I N A B I LI T Y B E YO N D LEED: I N T EG R AT I N G R PE R FO R M AT I V E E S T D E LI G H T I N R U C T H E B U I LT T U R E NVIRONMENT I N G Thomas Auer Joshua Vanwyck Erik Olsen LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and similar benchmarking systems have become a standard method for evaluating sustainability in buildings over the last 10 years. Simultaneously, sustain­ able design has become standard practice in many countries. Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration continues to report that build­ ings are responsible for almost 50% (46.9%) of American CO2 emissions. In addition to energy­related issues, there are many other aspects, such as a healthy environment and other aspects of indoor environmental quality, which are of relevance for a “truly sustainable” building. After more than a decade of considering sustainability in building design, it is appropriate to evaluate the results and—if necessary—reconsider or recalibrate the existing rating systems. 177 !"#$%&#'&($&)"#'*)+,-#./0+,0"1(#2*"(/3&#4",#5*++/$&#(01"0624"$+7# more than the entire transportation sector. It is clear that our buildings consume far more energy than they need, and it is our responsibility to contribute to a reduction of this imbalance. However, simply building an &"&)178&9620&"$#./0+,0"1#,*&(#"*$#34:&#0$#(/($40"4.+&;#<&#3/($#2*"(0,&)# many other factors, such as the embodied energy in the building, the com­ fort of occupants and the lifespan of the building. All of these factors are connected. A sustainable building must be a place people want to be, which is shaped by key factors such as human comfort, health, and the strong aesthetic architectural feel of the place. In creating such a desirable space, the lifespan of the building increases, and the impact of the embodied energy decreases. The amount of energy spent to create the products used in the construction of the building can range SUSTAINABILITY BEYOND LEED: INTEGRATING PERFORMATIVE DELIGHT IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT from 10% to 25% of what is required for building operation, depending primarily on it’s lifetime and excluding the further impact of the resource extraction associated with building products. Buildings and their poor design are key contributors to carbon emissions and must be addressed. This reality has led the European Union to require that all buildings built after 2020 must achieve net zero energy, while the entire building sector must reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2050. Unfortunately, we have designed only a handful of buildings that achieve carbon neutrality, &(5&204++7#0"#4#,&"(&#/).4"#2*"$&=$;#<&#2/))&"$+7#+42:#$%&#(:0++(-#$&2%"*+­ ogy and incentive to do this effectively. Meeting this mandate requires (01"0624"$#2%4"1&(#$*#$%&#422&5$&,#"*)3#4",#0"2)&,0.+&#0""*>4$0*";#?%&# level of innovation required suggests more than incremental improve­ ments to current practice. The Flatiron Building in New York was one of $%&#6)($#($&&+#%01%8)0(&#($)/2$/)&(-#./$#0$#+**:(#+0:&#4#34(*")7#./0+,0"1;#!$# took architects several decades to explore the design potential and op­ portunities of steel structure. This is comparable to our current status of sustainability, leading to the clear question: how will we get there? Many standards have been proposed by both government and non­governmental agencies to evaluate and incentivize sustainable buildings. LEED is by far the most recognized and pervasive example. However, if we continue down the path of equating sustainable design with only a LEED score, then sustainable design is destined to become a short­lived early 21st cen­ tury phenomenon. In order to truly succeed, sustainability has to trigger massive innovation. Looking at LEED, we recognize that it is essentially a prescriptive Manitoba Hydro Place designed by KPMB. (7($&3#.4(&,#*"#2/))&"$#2*"($)/2$0*"#5)42$02&(;#!"#(035+06&,#$&)3(-#@AAB# Image courtesy of Gerry Kopelew. is a system in which a list of sustainable features is provided to a building designer and the features that the building 9/+6++(#4)&#2%&2:&,#*99-#$%&#3*)&#9&4­ tures that are incorporated, the higher the overall rating. This approach doesn’t truly challenge standard construction methods, nor is it an absolute metric for sustainabil­ ity. A prescriptive approach is inherently based on the current state of building de­ sign and therefore only creates incentives for marginal improvements. For example, $%&#@AAB#(7($&3#035+0&(#$%4$#C784(%#0"# concrete is good because it reduces the carbon footprint of the concrete (embod­ ied energy) through the use of recycled material. It does not, however, establish a goal for reducing embodied energy in gen­ 178 eral. Such a goal would encourage archi­ tects and engineers to rethink the building structure beyond using recycled material. There are many more examples like this, which lead to the ultimate conclusion that prescriptive tools such as LEED do not boost innovation. LEED has created momentum for sustainable design. The system has been incredibly successful and has led to the improvement of thousands of buildings. The LEED checklist is providing guidance for a sustainable building design, with the drawback that it does not boost innova­ THOMAS AUER, JOSHUA VANWYCK, ERIK OLSEN R E S T R U C T U R I N G French School—Lycée Charles de Gaulle, Damascus, tion beyond current practices, nor can it ever include “design excellence,” Syria, designed by Ateliers Lion, Paris (Design which is essential for the lifetime of a building. This raises the question of Architect), Dagher, Hanna & Partners architects sarl, Beirut (Architect of Record), Barbanel whether LEED can potentially be improved in order to avoid or minimize Liban S.A. Antélias, Beirut (MEP), GEC these disadvantages. Ingénierie, Paris (Civil Engineering); and Transsolar, Stuttgart (ClimateEngineering). Image courtesy of Adria Goula. WHAT’S HOLDING L EED B A C K ? D*#./0+,0"1#2&)$0624$0*"#%4(#,&>&+*5&,#4(#3/2%#)&2*1"0$0*"#*)#3*3&"­ tum in the last ten years as LEED. The straightforward checklist, which allows not only architects, but also developers, clients and the public to quickly understand and demand certain features, has undoubtedly played a key role in its quick diffusion. This has led to a broad acceptance and 4#1)&4$&)8$%4"834):&$84>&)41&#1)*'$%#0"#@AAB#2&)$06&,#./0+,0"1(;#A>&"# ,/)0"1#&2*"*302#)&2&((0*"-#$%&#"/3.&)#*9#2&)$06&,#./0+,0"1(#4",#(542&(# %4(#2*"$0"/&,#$*#1)*'#.7#*>&)#EFG#5&)#7&4)-#(%*'0"1#$%&#2*"6,&"2&#$%4$# clients and developers have in the program. This branding has also led to recognition worldwide of LEED and what it stands for: green buildings and a greener world. This is unquestionably a great story of success. H"9*)$/"4$&+7-#@AAB#0(#"*$#$%&#(0+>&)#./++&$#9*)#&"&)178&9620&"$# sustainable buildings. Despite the incredible growth, the energy improve­ 3&"$(#*9#2&)$06&,#./0+,0"1(#4)&#/",&)#I/&($0*";#J#545&)#.7#D&'(%43-# Mancini and Birt1 examines in depth whether LEED buildings actually 179 5&)9*)3#.&$$&)#$%4"#"*"82&)$06&,#./0+,0"1(;#<%0+&#0$#455&4)&,#$%4$#(*3&# do, it also became clear that at least 25% of the buildings studied were +&((#&9620&"$#$%4"#$%&0)#"*"82&)$06&,#2*/"$&)54)$(;#D*#2*))&+4$0*"#'4(# found between the number of LEED energy points and the overall per­ formance of the building. Nor was there strong statistical evidence to show anything more than an average 10% improvement on the current norm. Consequently, in the last ten years, LEED’s exponential growth, the actual progress of the North American building industry in sustainability has been relatively small. According to statistics from the Green Build­ !" #$%&'()*"+,"-,."/(01202*"3,."4256*"4*"78"9::7;1$562<$=" ing Market and Impact Report, a total of 8 million tons of CO2 savings >?2@=20A&"&(B$"$0$5ACD"E$&*">?6"FG?>@2&'$="20"Energy per year are achieved due to LEED buildings. This is equal to less than and Buildings*"H!*"IJK*"GG,"JLM;LNO*"7PQR"!N,!N!STU, $0>?2@=,VNNL,NW,N!H"85"20"6'$"Q06$50$6R"'66GRTT%%%,051; 0.003% of the total building contribution to CO2 annually in the U.S. This 1051,A1,1(T8>UT251T=81TG?>&T0511O!!HV,G=X, K035)*>&3&"$L#0"#&9620&"27#0(#94)#$**#(34++#$*#4,,)&((#$%&#2%4++&"1&(# SUSTAINABILITY BEYOND LEED: INTEGRATING PERFORMATIVE DELIGHT IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ahead. Yet LEED is still recognized as the best available standard for green ./0+,0"1#2&)$0624$0*";#?%0(#545&)#0(#*"+7# one of many studies with varied con­ clusions on the effectiveness of LEED, which, in sum, lead us to ask why the massive popularity of LEED is not trans­ lating into more meaningful performance improvements. The largest factor for the underper­ formance of LEED seems to be the check­ list nature of the standard versus setting measurable performance goals. In essence, by modeling the energy consumption dur­ ing the design process, LEED buildings are not required to prove that the build­ ings meet the goals post­construction. Yet all buildings come with people, and people are unpredictable. If the building does not consider how people will act in a space and how the space can adapt to their needs, the actual energy costs can greatly exceed the modeled assumptions. Another drawback of the system 0(#$%4$#0$#0(#"*$#4(#2+034$&8(5&2062#4(#0$# (%*/+,#.&;#J+$%*/1%#2+034$&8(5&2062# energy modeling is required to achieve LEED standards, rarely is this modeling done until after the design development stage.
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